I'm sure some of you have played the computer game "Diablo I" by Blizzard
Entertainment. Along with sundry other dark quotes, the game manual
contains the following, purportedly from the Egyptian Book of the Dead:
I am yesterday, today and tomorrow,
and I have the power to be born a second time.
I am the divine hidden soul who created the Gods
and gives sepulchral meals to the denizens of the deep,
the place of the dead, and heaven...
Hail, lord of the shrine that stands in the centre of the earth.
He is I and I am he!
Back in 2003, I thought this was an excellent passage to translate into
Angosey. Tonight, I retranslated it using modern grammar and vocabulary,
and I've posted it in case anyone else wants to take a crack at it too!
Here's my somewhat pathological interlinear.
Abbreviations:
EM-The emotive noun class or the emotive aspect of verbs
FIRST_PER_ABS-First person absolutive pronoun
LOC-locational particle or locative case
TEMP-temporal
INST-instrumental case
PHYS-physical noun class
CONJ-conjugation
DAT-dative
FIRST_PER_ERG-First person ergative pronoun
Haraya isa haleyna seu,
am-EM FIRST_PER_ABS day-LOC. at-TEMP CONJ. PAST TENSE,
I am yesterday,
haleyna sia,
day-LOC at-TEMP CONJ. PAST TENSE,
today,
haleyna siare.
day-LOC. at-TEMP CONJ. PAST TENSE
tomorrow.
Si eyamagrevaya isha.
Again ABILITY-be_born-EM FIRST_PER_ABS.
I have the ability to be born again.
Haraya isa al eth tanara amazeradayera
have_EM FIRST_PERSON_ABS soul divine-and hidden-and
I am the divine hidden soul
Ngaharathaya ey al rishaninya ameyna inesa,
EM_CONJ-feed-EM that EM_PARTICLE inhabitants sea-LOC. LOC_CONJ-in,
that feeds the inhabitants of the ocean,
in amagrishnaya
LOC_PARTICLE dead
the place of the dead
in Angayus
LOC_PARTICLE heaven
heaven.
haradeo enethe ndpay.
meal-INST_CASE sepulchral PHYS_CONJ-by-means-of
sepulchral meals.
Zira, al anmay neyleo sena iney angayusna inesadha ndah!
look, EM_PARTICLE lord shrine-DAT stands that Earth-LOC LOC_CONJ-center
PHYS_PARTICLE-controlling!
Hail, lord of the shrine that stands at the center of the Earth!
Jrenhhaya isa al lay ra ngaharaya lay isha!
embody FIRST_PER_ERG EM_PARTICLE him and EM_CONJ-is he FIRST_PER_ABS
I am him and he is me!